June 22, 2011

Quick Takes, June 23, 2011

ITEM: You Go Girl! In Houston, TX there resides a “5-foot-nothing, 125 pound woman…” named Monique Lawless. When three punks tried to steal cases of beer from a WalMart, Lawless decided she wasn’t going to let them be, well, lawless, and took matters into her own feet. Go here for the story, and be sure to view the video. If we all did this, particularly if we were armed, I suspect crime rates would decline dramatically.

ITEM: Gunwalker: As regular readers know, Bob has been producing the finest work on this scandal anywhere in the media here at CY and also at Pajamas Media, and I’ve been adding the occasional supporting piece. Reflect, gentle readers, on the fact that if this sort of thing had been done by George W. Bush or any other Republican president, the Democrats and Lamestream media would be satisfied with nothing less than capital punishment followed by impeachment and a criminal trial. The foreign policy implications alone are staggering. It is possible that the President of the United States allowed foreign terroristic killers to be supplied with American weapons in a craven attempt to gin up support for domestic gun control policies. If so, it would be hard to imagine a better case for impeachment. Don’t let this one go down the memory hole, folks. We won’t. Discuss.

ITEM: So That’s What “Economic Recovery” Means! Let’s review: 9.1% unemployment, nearly a million lost construction jobs, about 865,00 manufacturing jobs lost, over six million home foreclosures, more than 3.7 trillion dollars added to the national debt, record high deficits for three straight years, and Dems, in violation of the law, refusing to write a budget for over 780 days. According to DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the economy has “turned around,” and it’s all to the credit of the Dems and Mr. Obama! Go here for the story. Secure breakable items first.

ITEM: Well, That’s A Pisser! There are those who suspect that professors in our universities are nothing more than a bunch of over-paid, under-worked, leftist whiners who don’t have the common sense the good Lord gave an avocado. And if they read this article (here) they’ll have no doubt that they’re right. Sheesh. Oh yes—it’s in California.

ITEM: What do you do if you’re a former Soviet Republic that is a solidly pro-American ally when Barack Obama treats you as he treats all American allies? You tell him that you’ll remain America’ strategic ally, but don’t bother calling back until a real American is in the White House. Go here to read the story of how Mr. Obama continues to stab the Czechs in the back in an idiotically transparent attempt to appease Russia.

ITEM: Don’t These Guys Have Editors? (Sub-title: Maybe that’s OK): Well, the nominations for the best inadvertently (I think) funny headline for the Summer of 2011 are now closed. From John at Powerline (here): “MISS USA CLIMAX APPROACHING.” I suspect the viewership of this particular pageant just might reverse recent trends and reach record levels.

ITEM: They did WHAT?! At the University of Colorado there exists a Sea Level Research Group. And this SLRG decided, beginning in May, to add 0.3 millimeters every year to its actual sea levels measurements because—well, just because. Steve Narem, director of the SLRG, according to Fox News (here) said:

“We have to account for the fact that the ocean basins are actually getting slightly bigger---water volume is expanding.”

However, James Taylor of the Heartland Institute observed:

“We’ve only seen 7 inches of sea level rise in the past century and it hasn’t sped up this century. Compared to that, this would add nearly 20 percent to the sea level rise. That’s not insignificant.”

Read the whole thing and wonder what the heck is going on in Mitt Romney’s mind as he seeks the Republican nomination by supporting global warming.

ITEM: Louis Renault Award, Hollywood Division: Imagine that you’re a 23 year old up-and-coming comedian and social commentator. Imagine that your manager shops your work around Hollywood, including John Stewart’s “Daily Show” on Comedy Central. Imagine that a producer for that show say that you’re “very talented,” but declines to book you because they never book conservatives. You’d be shocked, shocked! wouldn’t you? Not so much. Go here to Klavan on the Culture for the story of how Steven Crowder found himself in that very situation. Surely this sort of thing doesn’t go on in Hollywood? Not in Hollywoood where most folks are liberals and thus are good people, people who are all about tolerance and diversity? It does? I’m shocked, shocked! Be sure to take the link to Crowder’s YouTube video.

ITEM: It is blatantly stereotypical to suggest that liberals think that people who live in flyover country—and particularly the southern portions thereof—are missing toothed, inbred subhumans, and in the interests of fairness and reaching across the aisle, so to speak, we generally avoid that sort of stereotyping. And then a story like this comes along, and we remember that some stereotypes are absolutely true, and proved over and over and over. I suppose that’s why they’re stereotypes.

ITEN: It was, if memory serves, the execrable Tom Daschle (D-SD), who was famous for the South Dakota Two-Step, who said that the only way to professionalize airport security was to federalize it. The South Dakota Two-Step? Saying one, centrist to right thing in SD and being his inner leftist in DC. SD voters finally had enough of Daschle when John Thune came along, but Daschle was instrumental in saddling us with the child molesting Transportation Security Administration. And now the TSA has further distinguished itself by stealing the valuables of airline passengers across the nation. Go here for the story, but be sure your blood pressure meds are close at hand.

ITEM: In the last edition of QTs, we wrote about the Obama Administration’s Clintonian parsing of “hostilities,” as in whatever we’re doing in Libya, it isn’t “hostilities.” You know, those are nice bombs we’re dropping and friendly, diverse and tolerant Hellfire missiles we’re loosing on, well, whomever we’re loosing them on. But now we discover (here) that airmen and sailors in the non-hostile, non-hostilities zone of Libya are receiving “imminent danger pay.” And you’re surprised that Mr. Obama is lying because…?

ITEM: Louis Renault Award, Wisconsin Edition: Go here for this one. The facts: A former county executive e-mailed judicial authorities, including Judge Maryann Sumi who eventually heard the case, announcing her intention to file it—the case opposing Governor Walker’s bill that removed some union negotiating abilities. It gets worse. Do read this one if you had any doubt about the utter corruption of Wisconsin Progressives. Read it anyway if you didn’t.

ITEM: Remember the good old days when science had integrity? You remember, the days when “peer review” meant that actual, unbiased scientists with actual credentials to review the material being reviewed, reviewed the material? Go here to Canada’s National Post for a story about how those days are long gone, at least as “science” relates to climate. I’m beginning to think I ought to buy stock in companies that manufacture blood pressure meds.

ITEM: Louis Renault Award, Fleeing States Hostile to Business and Prosperity Division: Guess which state is now seeing companies, in record numbers, fleeing to states that actually operate under the free enterprise system? C’mon…you can do it! It starts with…what’s that? California? How’d you know? I’m shocked, shocked! Go here for the story. Recall, if you will, that a high level delegation of CA politicians recently traveled to the barbaric wastelands of Texas to fact-find about why all of their businesses are moving to Texas. Apparently they learned nothing from that trip. I’m shocked, shocked!

ITEM: Do these people have the slightest idea how idiotic they sound? How idiotic they are? Go here to find out.

ITEM: At Michelle Malkin (here), Doug Powers informs us of former Obama chief political advisor now turned chief campaign honcho David Axelrod who thinks it’s very cool to be an Obama supporter. Said Axelrod:

“The people who were participating in the campaign in 2008 weren’t involved in some sort of cult of personality. It wasn’t just about Barack Obama, it was the country and they cared deeply about this country…”

Uh, Right. But to be fair, I suppose that’s what years of living on Planet Obama does to you. Google “Obama Halos” to discover just how much people weren’t involved in a cult of personality (have an airsickness bag or its equivalent ready). OK, OK, so I guess the Lamestream Media really don’t qualify as “people,” but you know what I mean…

ITEM: So, Isn’t Music Therapy A Good Thing? Go here to England’s The Sun for a glimpse into that brave, Socialist future of ObamaCare. It seems that staff at a hospital gave some 30 frail, elderly patients a rather unusual means for summoning help: a tambourine. They also provided a set of maracas as a backup. I’m not kidding. I’m reasonably imaginative, but I couldn’t have made that one up. I am definitely going to invest in pharmaceuticals. Read the whole thing.

ITEM: Say What?! Powerline (here) has been following the inane utterances of National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Jim Leach for some time. Here are his comments on the occasion of National History Day:

“The most critical issue of our times is the capacity and willingness of peoples of the earth to respect and understand each other. If there is mutual respect and understanding, cooperative relations are likely. Conflict can be avoided. If respect is lacking, diplomacy is vastly more difficult. Any and all agreements become temporary at best.

History is important because it is the basis for mutual understanding. Without understanding there can be no meaningful respect, no sustaining diplomacy.
So my charge to you is to learn and to care and then share your learning and your caring with others. The planet will be in a world of problems if every day is not history day. If, on the other hand, peoples treat their neighbors near and far as if it were, the earth will be a better place to live and a safe haven for mankind.”

He’s kidding, right? This really isn’t a Federal official, is it? He can’t possibly be an adult? I’m sure he’d like to buy the world a Coke and teach it to sing in perfect harmony, but some things are just beyond parody. Power to the people, man! Peace and love!

ITEM: Dr. Bill Gray has been a member of the American Meteorological Society for more than 50 years. He is a professor emeritus at Colorado State University. Wouldn’t it be nice to read something about the Anthropogenic Global Warming hypothesis that is actually rational and well reasoned? Now you can. Go here to see what Professor Gray has to say about the AMS and how it has strayed from the path of science.

ITEM: Want to join a union? You don’t? Too bad. In the very near future, you may have very little to say about it, thanks to those merry Marxists on the National Labor Relations Board who are in the process of writing new rules that will make it almost impossible for unions to lose—in just about every way imaginable. Go here for the story. The Obama Administration: Bringing you Socialism and thuggish labor union intimidation whether you, the Congress, the law or the Constitution want it or not.

ITEM: Yup. The World Has Now Officially Gone Crazy. Or at least it has gone crazy in England. Go here for proof from the indispensable Mark Steyn.

ITEM: He Said WHAT?! Attorney General Eric Holder recently spoke to the American Constitution Society, and in that speech, he called America’s civilian courts America’s “Most Effective Terror-fighting Weapon.” I have little doubt that he means it, and that, gentle readers, is absolutely horrifying. As one who worked with the civilian courts and the criminal justice system for much of my young adult life, I can tell you without qualification that the civilian courts are not, in any possible way, capable of dealing with terrorism. While many acts of terrorists will certainly break criminal laws, the system is simply not set up to deal with those kinds of law-breakers who do not play by any of the rules of the criminal justice system and do not abide by our social contract in any way, shape or form. Go here for a brief comment on Holder’s comment. This goes beyond lunacy and steps fully over the line into endangering American and Americans. Our AG is doing that, and he’s proud of it. To what have we come?

ITEM: Yes, It’s the Electric Car That Will Not Die! Actually, when Mr. Obama leaves office, I suspect it will die rather quickly, but for now, the Chevy Volt follies continue apace. Go here for the horror story of a prospective Volt buyer who found a Volt with a price tag just $5 shy of $49,000. Apparently that friendly, local Chevy dealer added a $4,300 “market availability adjustment.” That still makes the Volt price tag $44, 695, which is at least $3695 over the MSRP. Good grief. How long can a company market a car with such awful economics? Discuss.

ITEM: If Al Gore Did It, Why not James Hansen? Did what? Get rich hawking the false AGW hypothesis. Go here to Fox News where you’ll discover that Hansen, the head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been not only a leading AGW proponent for years, but has been handsomely profiting thereby. Oh yes, and it appears that he has been doing this in violation of federal ethics rules. What’s that? Why would someone in charge of “Space Studies” be worried about global warming? That’s a good question. What’s that? Why would NASA allow anyone working for it to do anything other than space work? That’s a good question too.

ITEM: What? They rode bicycles naked in San Francisco? No, I mean the people were naked, not the bicycles. Good grief, is this edition of Quick Takes going downhill fast or what? Actually, go here for the coverage (uncoverage?) of the event. There is a censored edition, wherein various naughty bits are covered with the grinning face of—who else?—Anthony Weiner (which is surprisingly horrifying in and of itself), and an uncensored version (which is just run of the mill naughty bits). The police and doctors share one essential bit of knowledge: most people look better with their clothing on. If you have ever felt the need to test that aphorism, here is your chance. San Francisco. Of course. By the way, the overwhelming majority of the riders appear to have been male. What’s that all about? Discuss.

And with the image of scores of nekkid liberals riding bicycles firmly lodged in our minds (It hurts! It hurts! Make it stop!), I must once again thank you for stopping by, bid you adieu, and encourage you to drop by once again next Thursday for another edition of Quick Takes! Oh yes, let us sincerely give thanks that this happened in San Francisco, which, as far as I can tell, is on another planet, or at the least, is in another reality.